HealthTree Podcast for Multiple Myeloma

Myeloma progress continues to occur, in spite of the coronavirus and myeloma patients need to stay up-to-date on advancements in order to receive excellent myeloma care. The myeloma arsenal of treatments is growing, with several new treatments approved in the last few months and more to be approved in 2020. Dr. Paul Richardson of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute provides the myeloma patient community with a great synopsis of all relevant announcements shared at the virtual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting held May 29-31, 2020. Learn what's coming shortly in immunotherapies, precision medicine, targeted therapies, combination therapies and much more in this important show.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, GlaxoSmithKlein

Antibody testing for COVID-19 is rapidly evolving on a daily basis. Dr. Stephen Russell is developing a new blood-based antibody test to identify neutralizing antibodies that can determine a person's immune defense against SARS-CoV-2.  The project is a collaboration between Dr. Russell's company Vyriad and the pharma company Regeneron, and wants to make the tests commercially available through major labs soon. Dr. Russell notes that there are many different antibodies, some of which can neutralize the virus. And that those antibodies are the important ones that can tell if a patient will be protected against reinfection or not. He started looking into ways he could respond to the virus in February and a clinical trial quickly opened to study the test. Learn more about antibody testing in general and this test in particular on this fascinating show.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Genentech.

To date, a select number of myeloma patients have become COVID-19 positive. What have they experienced and how have they fared? Dr. Ola Landgren of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is living in New York City, a major hot spot in the United States for COVID-19. He joins us on HealthTree Podcast for Multiple Myeloma to share his expderiences in treating COVID-19 positive patients and his suggestions for myeloma patients who have not been infected with COVID-19. Join us for this relevant and important program during this critical time for myeloma patients.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing concern and disruption for normally healthy global citizens, but there are additional issues for multiple myeloma patients who are frequent visitors to hospitals and are often immunocompromised. Learn from myeloma expert Joshua Richter, MD of Mount Sinai about current recommendations for multiple myeloma patients regarding treatments, doctor visits, blood draws, stem cell transplant and other infusions in light of this unique global situation. Learn more about what myeloma patients can do to protect themselves during this important time,  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Bristol Myers-Squibb

Infection is a leading cause of death for multiple myeloma patients and protection against infection is key, especially during stem cell transplant. At certain points during stem cell transplant, your immune system is at an all time low until your immune system “reboots” when stem cells are given back. Learn from transplant expert Jennifer Saullo, MD, PharmD of Duke University Medical Center as she shares ways to protect myeloma patients from infections before, during and after stem cell transplant.  Dr. Saullo is Assistant Professor of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Duke University. She serves on editorial boards of the Open Forum Infectious Diseases and reviews journals including Medical Mycology, BMJ Case Reports, and Clinical Infectious Diseases. She received the Meritorious Service Award at Duke, and several teaching and resident awards from Columbia University.  Dr. Saullo performs both basic and applied research on topics such as mass spectrometry, B cell immune deficiencies after transplant, transplant infectious disease management and vaccination for transplant recipients.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, GlaxoSmithKlein

What innovation is coming in 2020 in myeloma research? Dr. Robert Orlowski of the the MD Anderson Cancer Center shares the insights learned from the recent American Society of Hematology meeting and highlights leading edge research expected in 2020. There is a stunning amount of development happening in myeloma - immunotherapies like CAR T, bi-specific antibodies, tri-specific antibodies and antibody drug conjugates, new findings in precursor conditions like MGUS and smoldering myeloma, new targeted therapies for relapsed and refractory myeloma and a host of different treatment combinations. Dr. Orlowski will give a broad and comprehensive review of what we can expect to see in 2020. Join us for this favorite annual show.   Dr. Orlowski is Chairman, Ad Interim, Director of Myeloma, and Professor of Medicine in the Departments of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Orlowski serves as Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and is a member of the NCI Steering Committee, the Multiple Myeloma Tissue Bank Steering Committee, the Computerized Provider Order Entry Steering Committee, BMT Committee, and American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Orlowski is on the Editorial Board of Hematology and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Orlowski has received many awards over a number of years including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar in Clinical Research, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year Award, Emil Frei III Award for Excellence in Translational Research from MD Anderson and has received a SPORE grant from the NIH. Find news and information from his daily newspaper, Myeloma Daily or find him on Twitter at @myeloma_doc. Thank you to our episode sponsor, GSK.

Many myeloma patients are elderly, with the average age of diagnosis being 68. If individuals are fit and active, they can typically receive the "standard of care" drugs such as stem cell transplant or triplet drug combinations. But many individuals may be frail or have other health conditions that would required doctors to adjust treatment accordingly. Dr. Tanya Wildes, MD of the Washington University Siteman Cancer Institute shares how treatment can be modified for more frail patients and how therapy should be personalized for us all.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

How much does a cancer cell weigh? And why does it matter? As cancer cells die, they change their weight in a matter of hours. A new device called the Suspended Microchannel Resonator (SMR) is a new technology that can measure a small change in the weight of a single cancer cell. The SMR machine can detect this change and tell whether a cancer cell has died of "natural causes" or if it was killed by a cancer drug. This allows rapid assessment of whether an individual patient is responding to a cancer treatment or not. This wraps together everything about a cancer patient (such as their myeloma genetics, environmental and other biological factors) and analyzes the response to treatment, making it truly personalized medicine.  A company called Travera is now working to commercialize this technology developed in the Manalis Laboratory in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. It was recently tested in multiple myeloma in a small study at Dana Farber. Learn more about this fascinating technology that may create the first universal biomarker for cancer in this interview with Traver's CEO, Clifford Reid, PhD.  Thank you to our episode sponsor, GSK.

Cellectar Biosciences is working on testing a radiosensitive therapy in blood cancers including multiple myeloma. Their product, CLR 131, targets the myeloma tumors by delivering a cytotoxic radioisotope, iodine-131 directly to the tumor cells. Phase I study results showed an overall mean survival rate of 26.2 months for relapsed/refractory myeloma patients (who had received on average 5.8 prior lines of therapy). The drug was given as a one or two-dose treatment as a single agent, given during a 30-minute infusion. These results are promising when compared to recently FDA-approved myeloma treatments.  A Phase II study is now open using CLR 131 and dexamethasone for blood cancer patients including: multiple myeloma (MM), indolent chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have been previously treated with standard therapy for their underlying malignancy. Learn more in this show with Dr. Natalie Callander of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, GSK.

Irene Ghobrial, MD of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Ivan Borrello, MD of Johns Hopkins are leading the largest study on precursor myeloma conditions that will include 50,000 patients and family members. The goal of the study is to detect myeloma early and see why and how patients who have MGUS and smoldering myeloma progress to active myeloma. The study is also seeking to understand the genetic, molecular and immune factors that lead to disease progression with the hope that this knowledge could stop disease progression and improve survival with effective strategies.   If you are African American or family member of a myeloma patient between the ages of 40-75, it's time to join this important study, which requires no travel. These two groups are involved in the study because they are more likely to develop into active myeloma. The Dream Team will study this group in an effort to define biological characteristics that will help to identify which patients will benefit from particular therapies. These biological characteristics include inherited mutations, acquired mutations, and immune factors. The Dream Team will also identify lifestyle and demographic factors that contribute to disease progression, such as obesity and race. The PROMISE study is funded by Stand Up To Cancer, who has provided a $10 million award to the Myeloma Stand Up To Cancer Dream Team focused on revolutionizing the treatment of multiple myeloma through detection of early conditions before they turn into full-blown disease.  Learn more about how you and your family members can join! Thanks to our episode sponsor, Karyopharm Therapeutics